Confirmation of putative stormwater impact on water quality at a Florida beach by microbial source tracking methods and structure of indicator organism populations

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (16) ◽  
pp. 3747-3757 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Brownell ◽  
V.J. Harwood ◽  
R.C. Kurz ◽  
S.M. McQuaig ◽  
J. Lukasik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Indicator Organism

scholarly journals Norwegian study on microbial source tracking for water quality control and pollution removal in constructed wetland treating catchment run-off

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 1158-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Paruch ◽  
Adam M. Paruch ◽  
Anne-Grete Buseth Blankenberg ◽  
Ketil Haarstad ◽  
Trond Mæhlum
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Quality Control ◽  
Constructed Wetland ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Water Quality Control ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Pollution Removal

This study describes the first Norwegian microbial source tracking (MST) approach for water quality control and pollution removal from catchment run-off in a nature-based treatment system (NBTS) with a constructed wetland. The applied MST tools combined microbial analyses and molecular tests to detect and define the source(s) and dominant origin(s) of faecal water contamination. Faecal indicator bacteria Escherichia coli and host-specific Bacteroidales 16 s rRNA gene markers have been employed. The study revealed that the newly developed contribution profiling of faecal origin derived from the Bacteroidales DNA could quantitatively distinguish between human and non-human pollution origins. Further, the outcomes of the MST test have been compared with the results of both physicochemical analyses and tests of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). A strong positive correlation was discovered between the human marker and PPCPs. Gabapentin was the most frequently detected compound and it showed the uppermost positive correlation with the human marker. The study demonstrated that the NBTS performs satisfactorily with the removal of E. coli but not PPCPs. Interestingly, the presence of PPCPs in the water samples was not correlated with high concentrations of E. coli. Neither has the latter an apparent correlation with the human marker.

scholarly journals Enterococcal Concentrations in a Coastal Ecosystem Are a Function of Fecal Source Input, Environmental Conditions, and Environmental Sources

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Rothenheber ◽  
Stephen Jones
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Management Problem ◽  
Recreational Waters

ABSTRACTFecal pollution at coastal beaches requires management efforts to address public health and economic concerns. Feces-borne bacterial concentrations are influenced by different fecal sources, environmental conditions, and ecosystem reservoirs, making their public health significance convoluted. In this study, we sought to delineate the influences of these factors on enterococcal concentrations in southern Maine coastal recreational waters. Weekly water samples and water quality measurements were conducted at freshwater, estuarine, and marine beach sites from June through September 2016. The samples were analyzed for total and particle-associated enterococcal concentrations, total suspended solids, and microbial source tracking markers (PCR: Bac32, HF183, CF128, DF475, and Gull2; quantitative PCR [qPCR]: AllBac, HF183, and GFD). Water, soil, sediment, and marine sediment samples were also subjected to 16S rRNA sequencing and SourceTracker analysis to determine the influence from these environmental reservoirs on water sample microbial communities. Enterococcal and particle-associated enterococcal concentrations were elevated in freshwater, but the concentrations of suspended solids were relatively similar. Mammal fecal contamination was significantly elevated in the estuary, with human and bird fecal contaminant levels similar between sites. A partial least-squares regression model indicated particle-associated enterococcal and mammal marker concentrations had the most significant positive relationships with enterococcal concentrations across marine, estuary, and freshwater environments. Freshwater microbial communities were significantly influenced by underlying sediment, while estuarine/marine beach communities were influenced by freshwater, high tide height, and estuarine sediment. Elevated enterococcal levels were reflective of a combination of increased fecal source input, environmental sources, and environmental conditions, highlighting the need for encompassing microbial source tracking (MST) approaches for managing water quality issues.IMPORTANCEEnterococci have long been the federal standard in determining water quality at estuarine and marine environments. Although enterococci are highly abundant in the intestines of many animals, they are not exclusive to that environment and can persist and grow outside fecal tracts. This presents a management problem for areas that are largely impaired by nonpoint source contamination, as fecal sources might not be the root cause of contamination. This study employed different microbial source tracking methods for delineating the influences from fecal source input, environmental sources, and environmental conditions to determine which combination of variables are influencing enterococcal concentrations in recreational waters at a historically impaired coastal town. The results showed that fecal source input, environmental sources, and conditions all play roles in influencing enterococcal concentrations. This highlights the need to include an encompassing microbial source tracking approach to assess the effects of all important variables on enterococcal concentrations.

scholarly journals Effects of Fecal Source Input, Environmental Conditions, and Environmental Sources on Enterococci Concentrations in a Coastal Ecosystem

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Rothenheber ◽  
Stephen Jones
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Microbial Source Tracking ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Management Problem ◽  
Recreational Waters

ABSTRACTFecal pollution at coastal beaches in the Northeast, USA requires management efforts to address public health and economic concerns. Concentrations of fecal-borne bacteria are influenced by different fecal sources, environmental conditions, and ecosystem reservoirs, making their public health significance convoluted. In this study, we sought to delineate the influences of these factors on enterococci concentrations in southern Maine coastal recreational waters. Weekly water samples and water quality measurements were conducted at freshwater, estuarine, and marine beach sites from June through September 2016. Samples were analyzed for total and particle-associated enterococci concentrations, total suspended solids, and microbial source tracking markers for multiple sources. Water, soil, sediment, and marine sediment samples were also subjected to 16S rRNA sequencing and SourceTracker analysis to determine the influence from these environmental reservoirs on water sample microbial communities. Enterococci and particle-associated enterococci concentrations were elevated in freshwater, but suspended solids concentrations were relatively similar. Mammal fecal contamination was significantly elevated in the estuary, with human and bird fecal contaminant levels similar between sites. A partial least squares regression model indicated particle-associated enterococci and mammal marker concentrations had the most significant positive relationships with enterococci concentrations across marine, estuary, and freshwater environments. Freshwater microbial communities were significantly influenced by underlying sediment while estuarine/marine beach communities were influenced by freshwater, high tide height, and estuarine sediment. We found elevated enterococci levels are reflective of a combination of increased fecal source input, environmental sources, and environmental conditions, highlighting the need for encompassing MST approaches for managing water quality issues.IMPORTANCEEnterococci have long been the federal standard in determining water quality at estuarine and marine environments. Although enterococci are highly abundant in the fecal tracts of many animals they are not exclusive to that environment and can persist and grow outside of fecal tracts. This presents a management problem for areas that are largely impaired by non-point source contamination, as fecal sources might not be the root cause of contamination. This study employed different microbial source tracking methods to delineate influences from fecal source input, environmental sources, and environmental conditions to determine which combination of variables are influencing enterococci concentrations in recreational waters at a historically impaired coastal town. Results showed that fecal source input, environmental sources and conditions all play a role in influencing enterococci concentrations. This highlights the need to include an encompassing microbial source tracking approach to assess the effects of all important variables on enterococci concentrations.

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